ABDC: Nissan GT-R Premium

As far as wild things go, the Nissan GT-R needs little introduction. And for the lucky ones behind the wheel, there are few who will say it’s nothing short of beastly. Whether that’s a good or bad thing, is yet to be determined. What is clear however, is its deserved place in Australia’s Best Drivers Car (ABDC) line-up.

Coming up to eight years young, continual updates have seen the once only fierce Nissan GT-R, escalate to formidable territory. Equal parts intimidation and exhilaration, the latest Premium edition made for a most interesting companion on some of Tasmania’s most beautiful and challenging roads.

Our judges were unanimous in their respect for this car’s character but equally almost every one of us seemed just a touch intimidated.

The spec sheet of the Nissan GT-R is a case of big and bigger. Beneath the muscular body lives a 3.8-litre twin-turbocharged petrol V6 engine that brews 404kW and 628Nm (compared to its predecessors 357kW and 588Nm).

Impressive numbers? Yes… But in this company, the Nissan’s output takes third place behind the Jaguar F-TYPE R and the heady HSV GTS. Then again Australia’s Best Drivers Car is not judged on numbers alone.

The GT-R fills a large footprint and never feels less than its considerable size. Its wedge-shape proportions suggest it’s business in the front and party in the back – not unlike how it feels to drive the GT-R come to think of it.

Weighing in at 1743kg, the Nissan feels a handful – and despite some smart technology at the wheel, you always feel like there’s a monster looming in the darkness behind.

With much technology at hand (buttons, screens and fancy charts to gloat), the GT-R actually takes a bit to navigate. The Advanced Dynamic Control system offers Normal, R-Mode or Off, diminishing the input as you wish. And you can play between Normal, R-Mode and Save (long-distance mode) for the six-speed transmission. Finally, a further three driver-selected modes see the suspensions settings shift for Normal, R-Mode and Comfort.

However, no amount of button pushing returned the steering feedback you hunt for in the GT-R. Its precision and turn-in is very good, commendable even, but it calls for a level of trust that was not always so easy to concede.

The cockpit style cabin is a rolling man-cave, enveloping you in a sea of leather and impressive gadgetry. The sound of a rumbling engine note is nothing short of seductive.

Despite all this chest-beating, engaging comfort mode softens the blow somewhat, making the GT-R more feasible as an everyday drive.

In Premium trim, the big Nissan also packs suitable tech and creature comforts such as seven-inch colour touchscreen, heated eight-way electric-adjust seats, keyless entry with push button start, Bluetooth connectivity for handsfree phone and audio streaming, satellite navigation, reversing camera and 11-speaker BOSE audio system with dual subwoofers, naturally.

Behind the wheel, it fast becomes obvious that the GT-R will not dive and turn with the same athleticism of some more slender sporties, or more nimble lightweights, but it shone brightly in other ways.

A supremely balanced chassis, brilliant six-speed dual clutch transmission and phenomenal power combine to give you an almost youthful sense of invincibility at the wheel. While the GT-R gets six speeds only, there’s little downside – left to its own devices or shifting manually, throttle response and gear changes are lightning fast.

Bitterly cold, wet and icy - the all-wheel-drive system distributes power beautifully. Grip and poise is astonishing. Better still, the GT-R showed an unsuspected agility through Tasmania’s tight winding roads.

But with so much power at the ready, there was little romance involved. Hard acceleration often followed by immediate lift-off, gut-gathering, power on, more adjustment and repeat. It all just happens so fast!

Judged on pace alone, the GT-R’s spectacular acceleration would see it catapult to the top of the pack. Rushing from 0-100km/h in just 3.6sec, it outpaced both the Jag and Porsche comprehensively. It continued to flaunt its brawn in the 0-400m sprint, reaching the finish line in just 11.57sec with a breathtaking speed of 198.6km/h – more than a second clear of the F-TYPE R.

As you’d hope, the massive Brembo brakes are fast to grab and response feels good underfoot.

Amidst the pomp and polish of its European rivals, the GR-R felt a little unsophisticated - thug-like at times. Some of this can be put down to the mechanical rawness of the GT-R – you can quite clearly hear it working its way through the gears. And at speed, it’s noisy as all heck - the roar of the 20-inch wheels is ever-present.

Ranking lower than we tipped in the lead-up to ABDC, the all-consuming GT-R teased even the most experienced drivers on test -- taunting rather than tempting with its paranormal limits.

ABDC ranking: Sixth